MLB's New Proposed Travel Rules Could Prove Costly For Minor League Franchises

In addition to receiving proposed updated facility standards, Minor League Baseball teams have received from Major League Baseball proposed revisions to travel and scheduling. As expected, those revisions would improve the quality of life for players and coaches while likely increasing costs for minor league clubs.

Long before Minor League Baseball and Major League Baseball held their initial negotiations for a new Professional Baseball Agreement, there were expectations that any new agreement would contain updates to MiLB’s facility standards.

Those expectations are now reality. Minor league teams have now received MLB’s proposed revised facility standards. In large part, they are what most everyone expected—larger clubhouses, brighter stadium lights, covered batting and pitching tunnels and other details that will take minor league facilities into the 2020s and beyond.

While many of these new standards were expected, the cost to bring existing facilities up to MLB’s desired standards will be quite high.